Review: Sing-a-ma-jigs
Written on Sep 1, 2010 by RuthJS and filed under Mattel, Reviews
La, la, la! Here they are, the Sing-a-ma-jigs, announced by Mattel at Toy Fair 2010. These plush creatures sing when you press their bellies and even harmonize when you have more than one. Intended for children age three and up and retailing for $12.99, these toys are truly adorable.
Sing-a-ma-jigs Are Just Too Cute
Overview
The Sing-a-ma-jigs are a quirky, off-beat toy designed to bring smiles and to make you laugh. When you press their bellies, they sing. As they sing, they open their mouths (too cute, made of scrunchies). Scrunchies wide open, you can see little teeth and a pink tongue. This is what makes them irresistible. Their plush bodies and funky shirts are just gravy. See for yourself . . .
An Open Scrunchy Exposes a Cute Tongue and Tiny Teeth
The Sing-a-ma-jigs come in four colors, each with a different song:
- Red sings “Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone”
- Blue sings “When the Saints Go Marching In”
- Pink sings “Skip to My Loo”
- Yellow sings “Home on the Range”
We played with the red, blue, and pink creatures.
The Creatures With Which We Played
Play Time
There’s no power button on the Sing-a-ma-jigs. They are ready to sing whenever you press their bellies. If you don’t make them sing, they will automatically shut down after about 12 seconds of being idle. To let you know they are going into power saving mode, they will say “Bye Bye” or “See You Later” depending on the toy you have.
The Sing-a-ma-jig creatures have three modes that you can switch among by squeezing a creature’s left arm. When you toggle to speaking mode, you will be greeted with a little, “Aaaah!” letting you know that the Sing-a-ma-jig is ready to talk. Pressing the creature’s tummy in this mode produces cooing sounds like baby chatter.
Press the arm until you hear “Song,” when you want to hear the Sing-a-ma-jig’s personal song. You control the tempo of the music by squeezing the belly faster or slower.
The default mode mode is harmonize. If you are toggling through the modes, you will hear a single tone letting you know that it’s time to sing along. Pressing the creatures belly in this mode will give you a tone that will sustain as long as you squeeze, up to about 3 seconds. Every time you press its belly, the Sing-a-ma-jig sings another tone in its range.
The video below shows the red Sing-a-ma-jig cycle through these modes.
Harmonize mode is especially fun when you play with more than one creature because they actually do harmonize with each other. Here’s an example of this extreme cuteness.
Maintenance
The Sing-a-ma-jigs come with two AAA batteries. When it’s time to replace them, there is a compartment in the back of the creature. Simply unfasten the creature’s shirt, and open the Velcro compartment in the plush covering, and you will find the screw that holds the battery compartment closed.
Access to Batteries (2 AAA, included)
I should note that it can be a bit tricky to get a screw driver into the compartment because, while the opening is big enough, there’s not a lot of give in the plush fabric. However, this keeps small children from being able to access the batteries, which is good for safety. And, since the Sing-a-ma-jigs are for ages 3 and up, this is an important consideration.
The Screw Is Really Tucked In There
Tester Response
The best way to give an idea of the tester response is to provide some quotations.
Tester 1 — “Oh, they are SOOOO cute! Can I keep it?”
Tester 2 — “Look! They have teeth!”
Tester 3 — “Can I sleep with her? She’s so soft and cute and cuddly!”
There’s not much more to say. The testers absolutely LOVED these toys.
In a Nutshell
These plush toys are adorable and very cute. They were a hit with testers, and are priced well for the market. We give the Sing-a-ma-jigs
5 out of 5 stars
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